About Brazil Cup
The Brazil Cup is a knockout football tournament consisting of 92 teams representing all 26 states and federal districts of Brazil. It is a domestic cup competition in Brazil, equivalent to the Brazilian FA Cup, Portuguese Cup, Copa del Rey, Scottish Cup, and Argentine Cup, although its reputation is much higher and it is considered almost as important as the Brazilian league because the prize money is higher than that of the Brazilian league. The Brazilian Cup is an opportunity for teams from small states to compete against big teams. The cup champion automatically qualifies for the next edition of the Copa Libertadores, the most prestigious intercontinental football tournament organized by top clubs in South America by the South American Football Confederation.
Cup History
Initially, the Brazil Cup was participated by 32 clubs. This field increased to 40 in 1996, to 69 in 2000, and stabilized at 64 after 2001, remaining stable until 2012. Clubs from all 26 states and the Federal District of Brazil participated.
From 2001 to 2012, the Brazil Cup was held in the first half of the year, and during those seasons, due to busy schedules, teams participating in the Copa Libertadores did not participate in the same year's Brazil Cup. Therefore, the Brazilian Cup champions have never defended their title in the next tournament, as they will qualify for the South American Libertadores Cup that year.
From 2013 to 2015, 87 teams participated in cup competitions, and the teams that participated in the Copa Libertadores in South America directly made it to the round of 16 of the Brazilian Cup. In addition, the top 8 teams that were eliminated in the third round of the Brazilian Serie A last year are eligible to participate in the South American Cup. In 2016, a total of 86 clubs participated in the competition. From 2017 to 2020, a total of 91 teams participated in the cup, but the number of participants increased to 92 in 2021.
Since the 2023 edition, the tournament has been sponsored by Betano and is therefore known as the Brazilian Betano Cup due to sponsorship reasons.
Successful Clubs
Cruzeiro is the most successful club, having won six championships, followed by Flamengo and Gremio with five championships, Palmeiras with four championships, Corinthians with three championships, and Atletico Mineiro with two championships. Another 11 clubs won one tournament, producing a total of 17 championships. The state with the highest number of titles is S ã o Paulo, with 11 titles. Only two states have champions from multiple cities: S ã o Paulo (Jundia í, Santo Andr é, Santos, and S ã o Paulo) and the state of Rio Grande do Sul (Caxia do Sul and Porto Alegre). Rio de Janeiro (Flamengo, Fluminense, and Vasco da Gama) and Sao Paulo (Palmeiras, Corinthians, and Sao Paulo) are the only cities with two or more championship clubs
